Modular classrooms soon could be history

July 27, 2007|By Leslie Postal, Sentinel Staff Writer

Orange County's 16 decaying elementary schools -- whose modular design was a quick fix but problem-plagued solution to growth -- are going to be overhauled, according to the district's tentative budget.

"We are extremely pleased," said Renee Ennis, a PTA member at MetroWest Elementary, one of the first two schools slated for renovations. "We've waited. It's our turn."

Ennis was one of many parents who protested last spring when district officials said the 16 schools' modular classrooms would be upgraded, not replaced. Officials cited budget shortfalls.

That decision was reconsidered, however, and the new budget includes money to replace the modular units -- basically long, one-piece portables -- with permanent classrooms.

Paying for the work at the 16 schools will mean delaying construction of six new schools that were to be built in several years, said Rick Collins, the district's chief financial officer.

But that delay should be less painful than feared because growth in student enrollment has almost flat-lined this year, making the need for new schools less pressing.

"Overhauling the 16 schools is the "major change" in the upcoming year's construction budget, Collins said.

Jim Martin, vice chairman of the Orange County School Board, said the slowdown in enrollment had given the district, and its $2 billion construction program, some "breathing room."

The district's 2007-08 budget, which is to get a preliminary vote by the School Board on Monday, provides about $23 million for Metro- West and nearly $19 million for Palm Lake Elementary, another modular school.

The modular schools were built in the late 1980s to deal with surging enrollment. They were meant to last about 20 years. But within a decade, they were suffering from rotten floors, cracked walls, and mold and mildew.